I Need To Know
by MysticMonarch
Summary: I quickly closed the distance between our lips, intending to get it over with quickly. Electricity shot up my spine as our lips grazed for the first time, and mine slightly parted on an instinct. The heat that radiated between us was overwhelming; I could feel the tension seeping out from the kiss, and it wasn't even a real one. Puppy and puzzle, sequel to Remembrance,yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Here it finally is, the sequel to Remembrance, I Need To Know! Puzzleshipping with a side helping of Puppyshipping. You're welcome.

Special thanks to everyone who's reading, you guys rock.

I have an announcement: I NEED SOMEONE TO READ A STORY THAT I'M WORKING ON AND TELL ME HOW I'M DOING. And motivate me to write the next little bit ^_^ It's called Circuit-Board Love, puzzleshipping. If you'd be interested, (This isn't really a beta reader thing, I'm not looking for help with the grammar on it, I'm really looking for somebody to tell me 'Your transition between _ and _ is a little sloppy/ hard to understand, pages _ and _ are a little repetitive', etc. Not grammar issues) the description is on my profile.

I have a second announcement: Due to my visitation schedule, I will not have the ability to post the next chapter in two weeks. You will have to wait an entire month. I deeply and sincerely am sorry, but there is no way around this. However, I will try and see if I can find the motivations to give you two chapters then. You know what really motivates me? Reviews ;-)

I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH!

Yuugi's POV

The hour long drive to the airport was a test of patience, self-control, and endurance, that was for sure. We wanted so badly to kiss, but my grandpa was constantly looking back in the rearview mirror, and I wasn't about to kiss my boyfriend in front of him.

Even if I _could_ feel Yami's hungry eyes gazing upon me, sending shivers down my spine.

This was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done, not turning towards him and heatedly pressing our lips together like our lives depended upon it. I would have to wait though… just until we got to the airport. Then, we could find seats far away from my grandfather and Kaiba, and we could kiss all we wanted to.

I glanced over and made the mistake of locking eyes with him, and he scooted over closer to me. He was close, so close that it wasn't even funny. I was trembling from restraining myself, and I'm 90% sure both of us had entirely forgotten why we weren't supposed to kiss in the first place by now. He leaned in slowly and our lips brushed up against one another's, sending violent shivers up my spine.

Kaiba cleared his throat loudly from the front seat, causing Yami to abruptly pull away from me. I glared at Kaiba, and I could tell even without seeing his face that he was smirking broadly.

The last twenty minutes of the drive were the hardest. I could tell that he was sitting so close to me, yet I couldn't reach over and touch him, lean in and kiss him like I so desperately craved. It was something I'd been waiting to do my entire life. Okay, so technically not until _after_ I solved the millennium puzzle, but you get the point.

I was so relieved when I saw the airport in the distance that I could've jumped for joy. I couldn't keep my mind of the plane, how Kaiba had informed us that he'd booked one with only a few passengers. I suppose that meant Yami and I could find a seat where the entirety of the human race wouldn't seem to be staring at us. Even if it would be worth it to kiss him, I'd still feel really awkward and a little bit violated afterwards. I guess that's just how I am.

Once we pulled up, I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the car, walking briskly through the parking lot with him in tow, then continuing through the airport. We got about halfway through the place before we had a little problem with our plan.

The metal detectors.

I tried to make it through, but it beeped wildly and a security guard came strolling over with one of those hand-held thingies, and he asked if I had anything on me.

"No, I just forgot to take off my bracelets and my necklace, and my belt." I said quickly, stepping back through the machine and beginning the slow and tedious process of taking off all of my jewelry.

I slowly took off all of my bracelets, setting them into a small plastic basket that was clearly intended for that purpose. I dully noted that Yami was mimicking my actions behind me.

I took off my belt and put it in, stepping through it again. To my utter dismay, the alarm rang a second time.

"If you end up setting it off a third time, we're going to have to preform a full body cavity search." The man informed me with a blank tone. I stepped back immediately and felt one of Yami's arms snake around my waist protectively. He was glaring at the man intently, as if he could somehow tell him, 'this is MINE'. I blushed brightly as he leaned down slowly to take off my choker with his teeth, ghosting his breath over my neck.

I knew he didn't intentionally _mean_ for the gesture to be embarrassing for me, and he was just trying to show that he wasn't about to let anything happen to me, but I still wished he hadn't one that in public, let alone specifically in reaction to the words of a random stranger. Well, at least the action didn't take too long.

Thankfully, the third time I stepped through the detector, it remained silent. I sighed in relief, and Yami got through with absolutely no problems.

We walked briskly onto the plane as it boarded, but it honestly seemed like everything was taking much too long. I just wanted to get on the plane and find our seats, then kiss my Yami over and over again. I didn't think I would even be capable of getting sick of the feeling of his lips on mine.

I tapped my foot impatiently and paced around until we finally boarded the plane. I lead us immediately as far back as you could go, giving a satisfied hum as I found that it was blissfully empty. I sighed in relief and scooted into the seat, pulling him down with me and immediately connecting our lips. How I'd longed for this…

I moved a little closer, feeling the warmth radiating off of him. This seemed like my own personal heaven.

Yami kissed me back with just as much vigor, putting a hand on the back of my neck to pull me closer. It felt like electricity was shooting through my veins and I melted, giving into the feeling of nirvana.

"I love you." I whispered against his lips. We parted, and I saw how his eyes were filled to the brim with emotion and passion. I felt a little bit of pride that that was all for me.

"I love you, too." He replied sternly, leaning down and stealing another kiss.

Kaiba's POV

I sat in my chair for about ten minutes before I realized that I should probably go ahead and go to the bathroom while we were still on the ground. As I was walking back, I saw none other than the happy couple themselves eagerly swapping spit. I rolled my eyes as I walked, trying to redirect my thoughts to finding the bathroom.

When I was done and back in my seat, I took out my cell phone and sent a quick text to Mokuba. To my surprise, another message popped up while I was sending that one out. At first glance I could tell that it wasn't my work, and that in itself was unusual.

I flipped open the text message and read the name at the top.

'Mutt.' Hmmm… I didn't even remember putting him in my phone, and he's about the last person I would've expected to test me anyways.

'Yug' isn't answrin his phone. Wanted 2 mke sure u were on the nxt flight.' It read. His atrocious spelling and grammar was hard to get by, but I decided to let it slide for now. It irritated me, but a fight wasn't what I was in the mood for at the moment.

'Well, Mutt, he's a bit too busy sucking face with the Pharaoh right now to care. To be honest, I don't think they'd notice if the plane started to go down. Don't worry, we're right on schedule.' I sent back. I only had to wait a second for his next text, thankfully. I hate slow texters.

'For da last time, don't call me dat! And TMI on Yug' and Yami, but thnx 4 lettin me know ur comin, Rich Boy.'

'I call you a mutt because you _are_ a mutt. Believe me, you'd rather I have told you than had to have witnessed it like I just did. Part of it is probably coming from Yuugi's relief that Yami likes him, though. From what I understand, Yami didn't remember anything at first, but he slowly started to recover his memories. Yuugi eventually had to explain everything, but he was too scared of his reaction to say anything about them being an item.' I sent. I wasn't really sure why I felt comfortable telling Joey things like this, since with anybody else I typically just wouldn't bother, but I decided not to overthink it.

'Why do I get the feeling that you meddled?'

'Because I did. Yuugi's poetry book just happened to be lying out. Do you have a problem with that, Mutt?'

'Actually, I half respect you now. While that is an invasion of Yuugi's privacy, I would've done the same thing. Mutt is hardly an acceptable nickname. How about 'Joey'?'

'So what, now you learn grammar? I wasn't exactly searching for your respect, so don't expect any in return.'

'Yeah, I love you too.'

I paused, feeling my jaw go slightly slack. Even when Wheeler was being civil, I never expected him to say anything of this nature, even if he was being sarcastic or plutonic.

'Thanks, but I'm not really interested in anything serious.'

'OMG, that was meant for Serenity!'

'Right, I've heard that excuse before. Since you're not fond of Mutt, how about we change then to Lover Boy?'

'Shut up, it wasn't meant for you! If we were the last two people on earth, I'd reconsider my views on bestiality.'

'What do you mean reconsider, mutt?'

'Okay, too far Kaiba! I may be a furry, but that doesn't mean I'm into weird stuff like that!'

'You just implied that you'd rather have an animal than me.'

'Well, you aren't exactly Mr. Desirable, now are ya?'

'Tabloids and the general public tend to disagree with you there, Wheeler.'

'Typical Kaiba. You're just too full of yourself, Rich Boy.'

I rolled my eyes as I calculated the best response to his statement. Wheeler certainly had some nerve, and I supposed that's why I didn't simply cease communications with him. He's the only one who actually has the guts to stand up to me, a character quality that I must admit is intriguing.

Except for Mokuba that is, but he's related to me. He knows that I have a soft spot for him, and he fully takes advantage of it in any way that he can.

I've taught him well.

'Well, you're entitled to think what you want. Just don't expect me to listen.'

'Then why do you retaliate, if you're not listening?'

We continued texting back and forth for almost the entire flight back, since it was daytime there and he apparently had nothing better to do than argue, and I was bored anyways.

Well, there were worse ways to spend a plane ride.

Yami's POV

I _really _didn't want to have to exit the plane, because I knew that coming up was yet another car ride where I couldn't kiss Yuugi. I swear, it was going to drive me insane, all these rules! I can't kiss him in front of his grandpa, (any elderly person, really), not much in public, nothing more serious than a peck in front of _anybody_… did we _have_ to care what other people thought of us?

As the plane began to land, I grabbed Yuugi's hand and held it close. If he didn't get to kiss him, he was sure as Ra going to hold his hand.

Suddenly, I noticed a group of people waving excitedly towards our group. A tall blonde with messy hair and brown eyes ran up, and I scanned my memories for a name. I remembered _some_ about him, but a name just wouldn't come to me…

"Hey there, Mutt." Kaiba said, standing tall and crossing his arms over his chest. Then I remembered.

Except, I remembered a little _more_ than just his name. I remembered he'd had some major tension with none other than Seto Kaiba, mainly because of his refusal to admit his little crush on the boy.

"Joey?" I asked. He turned to me and smiled, holding out his arms for a hug. I grudgingly accepted the invitation, not wanting to let go of Yuugi's hand, but also knowing that it had been awhile since this one has seen me to and I couldn't be rude.

"How rude. No hug for me?" Kaiba asked sarcastically, giving an even wider smirk. Joey tried to cover it up, but I could tell immediately that he wanted to. He puffed up his chest pridefully.

"Yami coming back has put me in _way_ too good of a mood to let it be ruined by you, Kaiba." He said, almost sounding cocky.

Just then, a pretty girl with red-pink hair came over and hugged me without permission. My eyes widened, and I patted her head awkwardly with my left hand.

Suddenly, it clicked.

"Tea?" I said. She pulled away from the tight embrace and beamed at me, nodding her head yes. There was still one last person left to meet, but he didn't really seem like the type of person to hug. Of course, I recognized him immediately.

Tea finally released her death grip around my waist, and I pulled Yuugi closer to me, remembering that she had some kind of crush on the both of us. I really didn't want him hugged right now.

"Hey, Trystan." I said pointedly, nodding my head towards him. I received a smile back, and I returned the gesture. He held out a hand for me to shake, and I eagerly did so.

On the way out, I kept noticing how Joey and Kaiba would sneak glances at one another. Joey seemed to be trying to be more subtle about it, like he was afraid he might get caught and called out for the small actions.

"So, how did everything go? I want the _whole_ story!" Joey said, flashing a cheesy, wide-toothed grin at Yuugi and I. I waited for Yuugi to start the story, not wanting to give away any information he would feel to be too personal. I didn't want to make my partner any more uncomfortable than he probably already was, knowing how he felt about those things.

"How about we let Kaiba tell it? Yami and I are a little tired right now…" He admitted sheepishly, casting Joey a sleepy smile. He leaned over and placed his head onto my shoulder in a little flirty action, one that I found adorable. I made a nice little hum to let him know that his caring was appreciated, and unwove our fingers that were currently resting on the cool leather of the limo seat in favor of snaking my arm around his waist and scooting him even closer. I took a moment to gaze longingly at his lips, thoughts of dragging him off somewhere and kissing him swirling around in my head.

'I want to kiss you so badly…' I thought in my head. This thought seemed different though. Almost like I'd directed it specifically towards him. I felt him freeze beside me.

"Did you just do that?" He asked out loud, turning towards me. It finally clicked then.

"Our mind connection is back!" I said happily. Yuugi looked so happy he could _cry,_ (and from the emotions I was now faintly feeling, I could tell that he _was_ happy) and he looked up at me through loving eyes.

I couldn't resist then. I leaned forward and pressed our lips together lightly, feeling immediately his strong emotional response to it. I smiled into the kiss, feeling the same feeling flowing through me.

'I love you.' I sent. The rest of the gang was looking a little confused, but they didn't say anything about it. They knew about the mind link; I guess they just didn't know what it was like to finally have something that precious and personal back. I felt more complete than I ever had before.

Yuugi was blushing about kissing in public, but other than that, things seemed pretty normal as all of us climbed into Kaiba's limo. Due to space limitations and Tea immediately snagging the seat in the row with Yuugi and I, ant Trystan's aversion to sitting in the middle, Joey was stuck sitting in the seat next to Kaiba.

He scooted as far away as he possibly could, crossing his arms and pouting. Kaiba was sitting regularly, (with the exception that his legs were crossed—seriously, who sits like that?) as he began to tell the story of our time in Tennessee.

Actually, it was all fairly accurate. I would've thought that an onlooker would've seen it differently, but Kaiba was fairly observant. He'd known that Yuugi and I had liked each other, and recounted several flirtatious exchanges we'd had. Of course, I'd forgotten _one_ little thing…

' You _READ MY POETRY BOOK?!_' Yuugi sent through the mind link, turning to me with wide eyes.

'I'm sorry aibou. You heard the story, he tempted me!' I sent, flinching. I really hoped that Yuugi was taking it well, or at least better than I presumed. I could feel his anxiety spike through the mind link, and I flinched. I really didn't want to have a fight with him so early, especially when we _just_ got to start kissing after so long of waiting.

'It's just…. That's _personal!_' He sent. I could feel him calm down a bit, and he let out a long sigh. 'I understand being curious, and you couldn't really do anything in that situation, but just ask me next time, okay?' He sent.

'Thank you. I'm sorry that I invaded your privacy like that, and you should know that it most _certainly_ won't happen again.' I sent, hugging him close. I felt him melt into my arms and I smiled.

We pulled up to Yuugi's house and I paused, looking out the window. I wanted to get out, but I also didn't want to be the _first_ one out. Thankfully, Yuugi saved me by eagerly opening the door and hopping out with a soft thud, leaving me to follow closely behind.

To my disappointment, the others all followed, including Kaiba.

"What are you guys doing?" Yuugi asked, remaining polite. I could feel through the mind link that we were on a similar page; how could we kiss if they were here?

"Well, we wanted to throw a sort of party." Tea said, "To celebrate."

"Cool!" Yuugi said, obviously faking enthusiasm. All of us filed into the house one by one, and to be blatantly honest, I was pouting a little. It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with my friends, it was more that I wanted to spend some time with Yuugi, kissing him senseless.

I couldn't very well do that with everyone else around us now, could I?

Yuugi's grandpa immediately made the declaration that he was going to bed, leaving the rest of us standing awkwardly in the living room.

"So, what are we going to do?" Yuugi asked, yawning. Great, now we were going to have to _sleep_ when this was over, so I wouldn't even get to kiss him then!

"Well, I was thinking that we should play truth or dare!" Tea said happily.

I watched as Kaiba and Joey "glared" at each other, (to be blatantly honest they were checking each other out) only half registering her words.

Once what she had said sunk in, a devious plan began to form. I smirked.

Truth or dare indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

I am SO SORRY that this is so very short and I only have one chapter but some stuff came up and I didn't have time to type two so here you go, I promise to give you an extra long chapter next time. Any kind of a review would be great... I'd like to get 5 on this chapter if you guys would be so kind.

Joey's POV

I glared at Kaiba, growling a little in the back of my throat.

Why the hell was he even _here,_ anyways? Did he always _have_ to get involved in our business? Just because he had some kind of a high advisor position with Atem in a past life, did that mean we were just going to let this _scum_ into the group?

Apparently, it _did._

I growled in frustration, barely registering it when Tea decided to suggest that the group play a game.

Before I was even fully aware of what was happening, we were all sitting in a retarded circle in the floor like kindergarteners, getting ready to play a game that none of us had played in years. Kaiba had probably never played it.

"Why don't you pick the first person, Joey?" Tea suggested. I shrugged, deciding that that was fair enough. I wanted to immediately target Kaiba for the satisfaction of having the advantage for a few seconds, but I figured that it would be expected of me to do that. It wouldn't be any fun if he knew that I was going to target here. Besides, I already had something pretty funny picked out…

"Yuugi, truth or dare?" I asked. Yuugi flinched, and I saw Yami tentatively reach out and place his hand on top of Yuugi's, probably worried about how he'd react to random public affection. The hand holding in the airport was obviously at least partially planned. Yuugi gave a long sigh and looked up at me.

"Dare, I guess." He said with a shrug. I figured it was probably a better choice than truth, since I _would've_ thought of something mortifyingly awkward to ask.

It didn't mean that his dare wasn't going to be bad, though.

"I dare you to put on Tea's skirt and sit in it for five turns!" I declared triumphantly.

Yuugi immediately went tomato in five seconds flat. He had a panicked expression, and Yami looked like he was trying to bite back some laughter that threatened to boil over.

"I-I can't do _that_!" Yuugi exclaimed. I laughed out loud, finding his frazzled expression to be priceless. Even Tea was grinning a little bit, so the only one in our little circle who failed to see the humor was Yuugi himself.

"You'll lose the game if you don't, though!" I said in mock horror, earning myself a glare from Hades itself.

"I think you should totally do it." Yami teased playfully, giving Yuugi's arm a light punch.

"Fine! I will!" Yuugi announced, trying to sit up straight and proud. He only succeeded in looking even more embarrassed by the whole situation than before, due to the fact that he was still showing off his adorable blush.

He soon rose gracefully, stomping back to his room stubbornly while Tea followed quickly behind. There was a long, awkward, and altogether unbreakable silence by the rest of the gang as Yuugi and Tea swapped clothes. I didn't want to be the one to break it, so I just let it go and fiddled with my thumbs.

After just a few minutes of this, Yuugi and Tea emerged. Well, _Tea_ emerged. Yuugi more slowly slid down the hallway reluctantly, dreading the moment he'd come around the corner and show off his new look to everyone watching. His star-colored hair poked around the corner, still keeping his body hidden from view.

"Come on, Yuugi." I urged, gesturing for him to follow through on his words and come out for all the world to see. He gave me the second death glare of the night as he slowly stepped out from behind the wall, and a smile stretched over my face.

He looked down in shame as he walked back into our circle, Trystan and I giving off loud and sarcastic wolf whistles.

Yami, however, didn't look _amused_ at all. In fact, it actually kind of looked like he was checking Yuugi out. I slowly realized that he really _was, _ and from what I can tell, he was really liking it.

"Don't be self-conscious, Yuugi. You look beautiful." He said, flashing a genuine smile. He leaned over to graze the lightest of kisses on Yuugi's cheek, efficiently adding to my amounting need to barf.

"Truth or dare, Yami?" Yuugi asked innocently, smiling and widening his eyes _just_ the right amount.

"Excuse me?" Yami asked in shock, realizing that Yuugi was serious. "Well, um… Dare, I suppose."

"Then… If _I'm _beautiful in the skirt, you'll look _beautiful_ in it in about five turns." Yuugi said, smirking triumphantly. I laughed even harder, clutching at my sides.

"I guess I will then." Yami said, shrugging it off. "Does that make it my turn?"

"Of course. But choose wisely; revenge is more than just a word in this game." Yuugi warned.

"So, Joey," Yami said casually, leaning back as a dangerous smirk crossed his sharp features, "Truth or dare?" There was a certain kind of challenge in his voice, and _everyone_ knows that Joey Wheeler would never back down from a challenge. It's in my nature.

"Dare." I said confidently, puffing out my chest. I could take any kind of nonsense rubbish that he decided to throw at me.

"Are you sure you won't chicken out?" Yami taunted, and my resolve hardened.

"When has Joey Wheeler ever backed down from a challenge?" I asked, giving a light snort to show that the very thought of the idea was ludicrous.

"Good, then I dare you to play the poki game with Kaiba." He challenged. I felt my body freeze up without permission.

"WHAT?!" Kaiba and I both spat in unison. I could feel at that moment my head starting to reel with the possibility that I might accidentally kiss _Seto Kaiba._

"You said you wouldn't back down. Kaiba, if you don't, you lose the game to Joey. Joey, if you don't, you lose the game of truth or dare." Yami said. I could barely process the words coming out of his mouth. My hands started to sweat and my heart beat a little faster when I realized that his words were entirely accurate.

"But… what if…" I trailed off, feeling a blush creep onto my face and my adams apple bob as I harshly swallowed. I didn't want to kiss _that!_

"If you don't, you lose to Kaiba." Yami reminded me, and I gave a soft growl. I reared back as something was practically shoved in my face, a hand with neatly painted pink nails holing a small red box which I had immediately recognized as the offending object; Poki. Tea had immediately ran to the kitchen and gotten some, but I had somehow missed it. It didn't matter, though; I felt lightheaded and maybe even a little sick as I saw my own hand reach out tentatively, a slightly detectably tremble in my wrist, as I seized the box. I nodded to Tea to acknowledge that she'd done something, and she took her place at the head of the circle.

"Any chance you're looking to forfeit?" I asked Kaiba dryly, already knowing the answer. Kaiba looked just as stunned as I was, but he quickly recovered, his face becoming its usual mask void of emotion or anything remotely humanistic.

"Of course not, Mutt. What's the matter, can't take the heat?" He sneered. I growled just a bit, feeling anger rise up in me at the small insult. Why that little-

"No, I'll be fine." I practically snarled, slowly putting the chocolaty end of the stick against my tongue, trying to ignore the rich taste. I had enough things overwhelming my senses right now; I didn't need that adding to it.

He gently took the other end between his teeth, intensity burning in his blue eyes as he looked straight into mine. He immediately bit off an entire inch, and I took it as a challenge, biting off just a little more than that. We were close now; I could feel the body heat radiating off of him in waves, and I noticed little things that I hadn't before now. For example, he had the most feminine eyelashes I'd ever seen on a man, giving him a slightly intriguing look. I swallowed, tasting the thick aftertaste of chocolate as it glided its way down my palate. The effect was almost dizzying as I attempted to keep my grouchy expression.

I tried to concentrate on anything other than what was happening right now, trying to ignore the blue eyes that were seemingly glaring straight into my soul. Then, his lips twitched a bit as he took another bite.

Our lips were about three centimeters away from touching. I had no clue what to do. On my next turn, I'd _have_ to make our lips touch, or lose. There was no way around it, no magical loophole that could save me from this disaster. If I lost to Seto at a game as simple as this, what would it show about me?

His eyes glinted in humor, as if asking if I was going to chicken out. I felt a flare of anger in my stomach, and that flare gave me the strength that I had previously lacked.

I quickly closed the distance between our lips, intending to get it over with quickly. Electricity shot up my spine as our lips grazed for the first time, and mine slightly parted on an instinct. The heat that radiated between us was overwhelming; I could feel the tension seeping out from the kiss, and it wasn't even a _real_ one. I pulled away as quickly as possible, a little bit frightened by the intensity of that single action.

Whatever I was expecting out of a kiss with Kaiba, that was _not_ it.

"Next dare." I growled, crossing my arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, here's the third chapter. This one is the average length, just a couple words over 2,000. I'm updating a few days early because it's Christmas break. I would appreciate it if you'd all take the time to read my Christmas present fic to all of you, it would mean a lot to me~ 3

GREAT NEWS! I will be getting a laptop sometime in the next month, it has been confirmed! (We're doing Christmas at my mom's house late this year) So I will no longer be updating every other week. That being said, I will probably not have a schedule, per se, but rather will update when I have the time. But, that will probably mean that it will be more frequent than every other week.

Also, I'm 4/5ths of the way done with my fanfiction Circuit-Board love, so you should all be on the lookout for the prologue for that coming out sometime soon. The chapters will be substantially longer than my chapters here, so... yeah.

I don't own YuGiOh! Or its characters, all rights are reserved for Kazuki Takahashi.

Yuugi's POV

Once the game was finally over, everybody shuffled their way out of the house, saying their goodbyes.

As soon as the last person was gone, I shut the door behind them and playfully groaned. It had been a long, hard day, and I was extremely tired. I could feel that Yami-

Wait, Yami wanted to be doing something else?

I turned my head to him in confusion, why wouldn't he want to-

Suddenly, my mind went entirely blank. Yami came up and pulled me close to him, leaning down oh-so slowly to press our lips together softly. My train of thought flew out the window as I wrapped my arms around him and savored the moment.

'I love you. So much.' Yami sent heatedly through the mind link, and I sighed contentedly. It really was great that I had him now, now that I could feel his heart beating and his body heat radiating into me, sheathing me in a layer of protection and love. I loved him.

It was so perfect, so beautiful.

Almost… too good to be true.

The thought immediately unsettled me. Mainly because it seemed highly plausible. We ultimately had no explanation of why or how he was back, and that coupled with the fact that he was beginning to remember things again made this reality seem twisted and unreal. It just felt… wrong. I wanted more than anything to believe that this was just my mind working a hundred miles an hour, but…

The mind link. Explain that to me. I knew that we were two halves of the same soul, but normal people can't typically talk to somebody in their heads. What if Yami was only here because we have to find some threat of evil again, one that I was too weak to fight on my own? Wouldn't that mean that after we were done fighting, Yami would-

No. I couldn't even finish that thought; I couldn't even handle the _thought._

It was easily becoming addictive to me to be around him. He was so beautiful, so warm and strong… I wasn't sure that it would be possible at this point for me to quit cold turkey. I'd have to search for some way to have him back. While he wasn't there, I would be a mess. I'd eventually move on to a certain extent; I could be that strong for him. It would still change me, though. In some ways, I would be dead inside.

"I love you, too." I said. I could tell that my eyes were glazed over with emotion and terror, the fear that was pulsing through me, as well as the determination that I wouldn't lose him again. I had the emotional part of the mind link closed, but with the feelings flowing through me now, I doubted I was the only one feeling this. I knew that he could still feel traces, actually, it was how we'd originally found out that we loved each other.

I'd closed the mind link completely one night, right after he'd appeared.

Earlier that morning, I'd finally realized it. Why Yami had always made me feel shy and nervous at first, why I wanted to be with him no matter what. Why I'd always want him to be happy, even if it risked my own happiness.

It was because I loved him.

I'd always felt weird feelings around Yami, a fluttering in my chest that I could never explain. A slight aching in my chest to embrace him. It was a longing that I had tried and failed to explain. A part of me had finally felt complete, when he'd actually gotten to touch me. Of course, realizing your own feelings removes a block that's been stopping you from identifying them before. I knew that now that I realized how I'd felt about him, he could realize it too. I was scared, so I decided to shut down the emotional part of our link.

"I was so afraid." Yami whispered. It was right after DOMA, so I knew exactly what he was referring to. I turned to him and shook my head slightly. To my surprise, he leaned down and hugged me.

I closed my eyes. I closed them tighter, struggling with myself. Maybe if I tried hard enough, maybe I could pretend, just imagine that I could really feel him….

"Yuugi, what is that you're feeling?" He asked curiously.

"You mean determination?" I asked, laughing nervously. He slowly shook his head, and I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. What could I say? Lying to Yami about something this huge would practically be impossible. "It's…" I stated, biting my lip. Courage rose up inside of me; I couldn't hide my feelings from him. It would always feel like I was lying to him. It didn't matter if he would never like me back. I could deal with the consequences if I could just be honest with him. "It's love."

Yami looked down at me for a moment with his eyes widened in complete shock. I felt a million different emotions go through him, so many that I couldn't even keep track of all of them.

Finally, they settled on a sort of happy wonder. Once I realized what that meant, I leaned forward and 'kissed' him, feeling with satisfaction his emotional response to the small action. I smiled broadly and pulled back to find him smiling back at me.

So I knew that if I was feeling something strong enough, especially if it was a defined emotion, he could feel it even with the block. I saw his brow furrow in confusion, and I knew that he felt my fear.

There was something else, though.

My determination. He wasn't going to leave again, I wouldn't let that happen. I would fight for him, no matter what it took or how long. I had to try. He was what made me most happy in the world; and although there were other things, I was going to fight to keep him. Nothing would be the same if he was gone again.

No matter what, he'd come back to me. I knew that now.

"Aibou, what is it?" He asked, speaking out loud. I smiled at the deep sound of his voice, feeling my insecurities dwindle for now. He'd come back for me, or he'd been brought back by fate, it didn't really matter. He was here now, and I wanted to enjoy that while I could.

"It's nothing, really." I said, smiling. I let out a large yawn and Yami slowly shook his head back and forth disapprovingly.

"It's time for bed." He stated firmly, and I sighed. Which, when you think about it, really didn't do much but help convey the fact that I didn't want to go to bed.

"I can stay up longer." I argued. Yami's eyes narrowed dangerously, and things were still for a moment. Suddenly, he swooped down, and I felt my legs being yanked out from underneath me. I flailed my arms momentarily as I was scooped up into Yami's arms bridal style, and I immediately clung to him on instinct.

"I'm not a girl!" I finally hissed, breaking out of my trance and removing my arms from around his neck to push on his chest. He chuckled lightly, but refused to put me down. Instead, he immediately carried me back to my bed and dumped me down on it. "Real mature."

"It's time to sleep." Yami commanded. I rolled my eyes. I didn't have to listen to him, but I decided that it was best not to argue in this situation. I was honestly too tired to put up a fight right now. So, I reluctantly breached for my pajama bottoms and stomped over to the bathroom to change.

"You finished changing yet?" I demanded, stepping out only after I'd heard a small noise of affirmation. Yami had already climbed into bed. I sighed and followed in his footsteps, deciding that maybe going to sleep wasn't so bad when you got to cuddle with your sexy pharaoh boyfriend beforehand. As soon as I was under the covers, Yami reached an arm out eagerly, grabbing me and pulling me close. I sighed and snuggled into the warmth that his body offered. Well, going to bed certainly would have been a more appealing prospect had I known he was going to wrap his arms around me like that.

"I love you." He whispered again, in my ear. I smiled.

"I love you more."

Joey's POV

Three days.

It had been three long days since the unspeakable happened.

And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for a second.

The kiss was now seared into my brain like a _brand._ I couldn't get it out, no matter how hard I tried to distract myself with something, anything else. I'd stared at girls walking by, flirted a bit, (mainly because why the hell not?) tried to play a game of duel monsters with Yuugi. Nothing seemed to work.

The rich bastard was like a constant leech to my thoughts.

Trystan and I had tried to hang out, but it didn't really work. I was too distracted to be able to properly hold a conversation. Eventually, he just gave up on talking to me and did his own thing.

"I think you have some stuff you need to come to terms with. You need to call him and talk to him about it, Joey." Trystan had said sternly.

Of course, I wasn't about to embarrass myself like that, so I decided that it was best not to follow his brotherly advice. It was just a kiss. Just because I'd liked it didn't mean anything. He was a sarcastic, egotistical _jerk_ who could care less about all of us.

So, determined to get my mind off of everything, I decided to take a trip to the videogame store.

One thing that had always gotten me through was videogames. I could _always_ vedge out and forget what was going on around me with a fresh new disk in the console. A lot of the times, when I was younger, I'd use it whenever dad had drunk too much. Of course, I'd not used it for a while now that I'd moved out. I didn't have much time between dueling and looking for random work here and there to keep me on my feet.

I didn't really have a 'job', per se, but I'd actually started to make some good money from my dueling skills. I was relatively good, and while Yuugi was in his depression phase, he didn't go to many of them.

Of course, over the last six months, it had been hard enough to get Yuugi to _eat, _let alone duel. He'd occasionally play with me to help keep up his skill, but he wouldn't dream of stepping a foot outside the game shop. It had become frustrating to everyone.

Suddenly, I felt a cold chill as the door opened behind me. Dismissing it as probably being some punk teenager who thinks he's all that, I continued to ponder in between two of the games that they had.

"Come on, Seto!" I heard a voice from behind. I almost dropped the game that I was holding, but managed to force myself not to look. There was no way, my mind was playing tricks on me. "I think that a new Pokémon game came out today!" The voice said. It was clear by now that it really was the voice of Mokuba. I glanced to my right to discover, to my utter horror, that the Pokémon games were right beside me.

'Crap!' I thought, turning my head the other way. I heard the shuffling of feet next to me and a game was picked up.

"Yes! It's here!" Mokuba declared triumphantly. I couldn't see, but I assumed that Seto had gestured for him to take it to the counter, because he practically ran that way. I started to relax a little, at least I wouldn't be forced to talk to-

"Well, well, well…" Kaiba said. I flinched before slowly turning around to face him. "Look what the cat dragged in. What are you doing here, wheeler?"


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so I wanted to give you all some information. One of the reasons this story is so important to me- Remembrance and this, is that I base the events that the characters do on my actual life experiences. I felt like it would be nice to tell you some of the places that the scenes were based on, mainly in Remembrance but later in this (can't give any spoilers ;-) ) I'll tell you where some of these scenes came from, too. Okay.

The cabin that they stayed at in Remembrance was based on the '20/20 vision' cabin from Tennessee, I've actually stayed there. I moved some things around and left out some things, but Yuugi's bedroom was the same (the room I stayed in). Same with the kitchen, except when I was there they didn't have a table.

The zoo they went to was based on the Cincinnati zoo in Cincinnati Ohio. It's a very nice zoo.

The arcade was based on the Jukebox or Rockin arcade (can't quite remember the name) in Nashville, Tennessee.

I just figured that you guys might like to know that as a little bit of inside information :-) and I'm updating one day earlier than scheduled, so... yeah. Enjoy.

* * *

"Well, I was just shoppin' for groceries." I retaliated sarcastically. "What do you _think_ I'm doing?"

"What a quick tongue for someone so slow." Kaiba mocked, smirking a bit. I had to fight the temptation to punch that bastard right in the nose and teach him a lesson, but I had to resist.

"I don't have time for this." I said flatly. Kaiba rolled his eyes, not responding to my clear attempt to be rid of them. I honestly wanted to go and die in a hole.

"Oh my gosh! Hi, Joey!" Mokuba said excitedly, running up and wrapping his arms around my body. I lifted my own arms so that they wouldn't be trapped in his affection. I couldn't help smiling just a little at how much of his childish innocence Mokuba was able to retain. Not only that, but the kid was a flat-out prodigy. He took after his brother in the brains department.

"Hey Mokuba, what's up?"

"Nothing much. What about you?" I asked. He shook his head, and then all at once he lit up, as if remembering something important and exciting.

"Hey Joey, do you want to go to the fair with Seto and I?" He offered. I paused, mulling over his offer.

It had been quite a while since Mokuba and I had hung out. I missed talking to him, a lot, and he looked so excited. The last time we'd seen each other was at the airport, when he'd gone to see Seto. Even then, we hadn't even talked more than exchanging a few words before the others had gotten there.

"I didn't say you could invite the mutt." Kaiba spat. Mokuba glared at him, and anger flared up in me. How dare he try to dehumanize me? The dick had nerve.

"I'll come." I said immediately. Mokuba smiled and shook his head back and forth. I wasn't sure what that was glinting in his eyes-mischief? It didn't really matter, I dismissed the thought. Mokuba was a puzzle that I didn't think Yuugi himself could solve.

"I'm not going then." Seto said, sounding more automatic than a robot. He knew what was going to happen before he'd said that I was a mutt- I didn't put up with that.

"Seto, you promised." Mokuba scolded. Kaiba actually flinched, and I could see his resolve already beginning to fade. He made the mistake of glancing at the hurt Mokuba, and I could see him soften. Y'know, he was actually sorta good-lookin' when he wasn't so hard and tough. He…well… it wasn't like I was checking him out or anything, but I just noticed that he _did_ have a good side.

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly, earning him a hug from his brother. He froze entirely, not returning it, but not pushing his brother away, either. For Kaiba, that was the most that you could expect to get.

At least in public.

"So, when and where?" I asked. Mokuba pulled away from Kaiba.

"The pier at five o'clock! We can give you a ride there." Mokuba offered.

"My house is only five blocks down, I can walk." I said. Mokuba shook his head excitedly. Kaiba looked down, and from this new angle, I could see his unusually long eyelashes. He really was sorta feminine. I'd never noticed it before, but it was true. He was tall and slim with just the lightest layer of muscle, and his hair was just a little bit fluffy… how had I never noticed that he was pretty before?

"Okay! Well, we've gotta go now, but I'll see you in two hours!" Mokuba said, I flashed him a thumbs up as he grabbed Kaiba's wrist and proceeded to practically drag him out of the store.

Then it hit me. I was going to hang out with—with _Kaiba_ tonight. Why did it feel like there were butterflies in my stomach? Why did I suddenly have the urge to go home, brush my hair, fix my clothes, and pace around my house until five o'clock came around?

There was _no way_ I liked that rich _bastard_.

I was only excited to see Mokuba. The whole thing had absolutely nothing to do with Seto.

I put down the video game and walked out of the store, forcing myself not to look back at the Kaiba brothers climbing into their limo. I could feel Seto's eyes on my back though, so it was tempting to turn and meet them with my own.

I repressed a small shiver. Why was I acting like this? How come I suddenly wanted to whip around and stare into those piercingly crystal blue eyes? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME?!

Well, I _did_ have to admit that he was attractive. He was tall and attractive, and he did have a nicer side. He was nice to Mokuba.

I shook my head to clear it, walking just a little bit faster, eager to get home and rest before I had to get up to get ready. I didn't honestly want to argue with him tonight; it was just so draining sometimes. Things just felt so much tenser between us then they were with everybody else. He treated me like a mutt sometimes, and it honestly made me feel a little worthless.

I wasn't sure quite why it bothered me, though. Typically, I didn't really care what people thought of me; so why did I care about what he thought?

"I just need to sleep for a little while," I mumbled to myself, "I'm thinking much too hard." I finished, opening my door and stumbling inside sleepily. I walked over to my couch and collapsed, knowing that I was too drained to make it all the way to my bed.

I groaned softly against the grainy texture of my couch pillow and kicked my shoes off before scooting my feet up onto the couch, too. I relaxed completely, trying to clear my mind in an attempt to fade off into oblivion. It had been too long since I'd had proper sleep. My thoughts hadn't stopped racing around in my head until just then, which was comforting and worrying at the same time. I wondered why suddenly now, when I was going to see him later, my thoughts had chosen to calm down and give me peace.

I slowly faded off to sleep, feeling my body grow heavy.

"Joey, Joey!" Someone exclaimed. I slowly opened my eyes, looking up through my still sleep-blurry vision to see that Mokuba was lightly shaking me. I bolted straight up, surprise and shock dominating my feelings.

"What are you doing here?" I mumbled numbly, reaching up to rub at my eyes. I glanced over to my clock to make sure that I wasn't late.

"Seto said that we could go half an hour early, so I came to see if you were ready. You can ride with us if you can be ready to go in ten minutes." Mokuba said, smiling broadly.

Wait, ten minutes? I flinched, standing up and stretching automatically. I jogged into my bedroom as soon as possible, hoping to at least look somewhat presentable with the little amount of time that I had. I really didn't want to waste energy walking if they were here already.

I leafed through my clothes until I found a clean shirt and threw it on, My pants followed, (I almost tripped getting them off, thanks to my leg getting caught) and then I ran to the bathroom and attempted to ruffle my messy hair into something acceptable.

Whenever I had a deep sleep, I tossed and turned like nobody's business. So naturally, I was forced to eventually give up and tug a comb through it, flinching as it tugged at my scalp.

When my hair was as tame as it could possibly be, I ran out eagerly, smiling broadly at Mokuba. He rolled his eyes and walked me to the car. To my surprise, they'd chosen not to drive the limo. The car that was pulled up to the curb in front of me was a simple, four-door car.

Mokuba hopped in the back of the car and locked the door, forcing me to sit up front next to Seto. I was halfway in between being angry at Mokuba and confused as to why he was making me sit next to Seto. Moki had always wanted to sit by me before now.

I knocked on the door softly, eyes silently begging for him to unlock the door. I didn't want to have to sit next to _Kaiba!_ Especially not in such a small car, compared to what they're used to.

Seto rolled down the back window and Mokuba poked his head out. "Sorry Joey, the other seat belt back here is broken. You'll have to sit up front with Seto. Really sorry." Mokuba said. He looked much more amused than sorry.

I stuck my hand in the pocket and climbed in, slowly sinking down in my seat. Kaiba rolled his eyes and immediately took off, not being one for patience.

"So, where's your limo?" I asked, not even bothering to clutch onto the seat.

"Well, I decided to make you feel more at home." He sneered.

"Big brother, you promised that you wouldn't fight with joey tonight." Mokuba scolded from the seat behind us. He gave Kaiba a stern look and Kaiba sighed, giving his head a light nod in recognition of his attempt to follow through on what he had said.

"Fine." He said reluctantly, "It's because I don't want to be high profile. I'm going tonight for Mokuba, not to be interviewed by whatever crappy reporter decides to try and shove his microphone in my face."

"That makes sense." I said, nodding my head in agreement. "Smart." I commented. He snorted, but didn't really say anything like I expected him to. I paused, digesting what Mokuba had said. Was Seto really going to be civil for this entire trip? It seemed pretty impossible to me, but Seto always put forth effort into a promise to Mokuba. Perhaps he really _would_ be civil to me, for Mokuba? Maybe, dare I say it, we could even enjoy each other's company without fighting?

I thought for a moment. Maybe, if Kaiba would be civil to a certain degree, we could have an actual conversation. If I'm being honest with myself, I have to admit that I've always liked talking to Kaiba, no matter how badly he annoys me at times. He was intelligent, dashing, and all together a good conversationalist. It's just…

He probably considers me really stupid. He's got the IQ of a genius, and me, I'm just your average Joe. (He he, literally.)

Yet again I'm reminded that I'll never be up to his maturity.

Plus, what was I _thinking?_ Sure he was attractive and tall, with those attractively large blue eyes and slightly messy bangs. His looks were exotic, and he had a certain rough-around-the-edges personality that appealed to someone like me-

Wait, _what?_ I thought, blushing a bit. My point was _supposed _to be that he was a bastard, not kind of pretty. Okay, more than kind of.

Still, I did _NOT_ like the rich bastard!

I don't care if I did sort of like it when we kissed, it would never work! First of all, he hates me. Secondly, there was no way either of us could keep our mouths shut long enough. He claimed to Mokuba that we would stay neutral, but I honestly doubted that that was a possibility with the two of us.

"Is something wrong, Joey? You're brooding." Mokuba said, leaning forward in his seat.

I quickly snapped out of my trance. "No, I'm just deep in thought." I said, smiling. The fair appeared through the windshield and I admired it, the part that stood out the most to me being the medium-sized Ferris wheel. There were also several large carnival rides. They all looked so fun, I was probably grinning like an idiot.

"Seto, what are we going to go on first?" Mokuba inquired from the backseat. Seto shrugged, quickly finding a spot and pulling the car in smoothly. I was impressed on his driving skills, especially since he typically had a chauffeur to drive him around everywhere.

"I don't care, it's up to you and Joey." He said with a shrug. Mokuba smiled and climbed out of the car, chattering away about how much fun we were all going to have together. I began to follow after him, opening the door and putting one leg out before I felt a hand grasp one of my forearms.

I looked back and into the searing eyes of Seto Kaiba, trying to ignore the goose bumps that had currently appeared all along my arm. I attempted to speak, but my breath caught in my throat. All I could think about was how his lips had felt on mine that night, how easy it would be for me to lean forward and press our lips together again, savor the warmth and the _spark_ we seemed to have.

No, not a spark. More like an inferno.

"Listen, I know that you hate me, but for today, _please_ just try to keep the peace. I promised Mokuba that we wouldn't fight, and it's not a promise that I can keep alone." He said sternly, his eyes scanning my face apprehensively, as if trying to decipher what I thought.

"I don't hate you." I said automatically. Kaiba looked a little surprised, but didn't comment on my rash statement. "Yeah, I'll try to do my part." I agreed, gathering some of my sense again. "For Mokuba." I added quickly. He gave a small nod and let go of my hand, but his touch still lingered. Our eye contact didn't break until I was all the way out of the car. He climbed out and started after Mokuba. I quickly followed, my emotions in a tangled knot over everything that had just happened.


End file.
